Modi being the ‘victim’ of the opposition’s undue hatred is a clever story to sell to the electorate. Despite a full term and five years of incumbency, with this narrative, Modi becomes the underdog, and his political rivals end up looking like their only purpose is to see him out of power. The ‘chai-wallah’ versus the elite account is also sure to come up at regular intervals.

This is also a considered strategy to try and divert attention from the fact that the BJP’s governance track record has indeed left a lot to be desired, that Modi has not fulfilled several of the lofty promises he made before the 2014 elections, and that policy decisions like demonetisation have ended up hurting the common man.